


Drawing Conclusions

by Lasair (TheAmused)



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 09:59:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6075000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAmused/pseuds/Lasair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mirajane is very friendly with everyone. Cana jumps to conclusions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drawing Conclusions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IceBreeze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceBreeze/gifts).



> Well, that took longer than I thought. Sorry for the wait! It's been so long since I wrote fanfiction - it's like visiting an old friend. Anyway, happy really late birthday, here is very late birthday present! Also, I have no idea how to use Italics...I will probably ask you about this later.

_Bzzt!_

Cana glares around the seemingly-empty room, looking for the dangerous creature currently lurking about the apartment. “Come out, you little bastard,” she growls, whipping around to glare at the other side of the room. The bottle of beer sloshes around in her hand from the sudden movement, causing a few drops to fall to the floor.

It was a bad day at the Guild and Cana went home early instead of waiting for the inevitable fight to break out. Having just returned from a long, boring mission, she deserves to be able to drink in peace, which would likely not happen with Natsu’s team having returned at the same time. However, it seems that she will not even have peace in her own apartment, because of a-

_Bzzt!_

_Crash!_

Beer trickles down the pale orange wall, pooling around the broken glass now at the bottom. The front door flies open only a second later, revealing a concerned Mirajane. “Cana, are you okay?” She asks, looking around for trouble until her eyes land on the broken beer bottle on the other side of the room. “What happened?”

Cana’s already-pink cheeks turn a darker red with embarrassment and she looks away to hide her reaction. “Shouldn’t you be working?” She asks, trying to move the subject away from the smashed beer bottle. Cana knows she should not have thrown it, but the buzzing was so damn annoying. Even if it cost her a perfectly good beer, she is glad the mosquito is finally dead.

“I was worried about you, so I took an early lunch break,” Mirajane replies, finally looking away from the glass shards. “You’ve been really down ever since you returned from the mission yesterday. Are you okay?”

-

_“You’re really starting to creepy me out,” Wakaba remarks, eyeing Cana’s smile as if it has somehow offended him. However, there is a faint smirk on his face that suggests he is not as bothered as he says. Macao, though, does not bother to hide his smile._

_“You haven’t stopped smiling since we left the station,” he observes, making Cana’s smile die a little. However, the thought of what she is returning to is enough to bring her goofy, slightly-drunk grin back. With the long mission now over, she can finally return to the Guild and celebrate with her girlfriend of two months. Her secret girlfriend._

_Wakaba eyes her with fake wariness, the crinkling around his eyes giving way to how glad he is that Cana is happy. “Hey, Macao, maybe she’s met someone,” the mage whispers to his buddy, making Cana’s smile falter. This time, it does not return, the happiness blocked out by worry._

_Tilting his head in thought, Macao seems to be trying to get a read on Cana, humming softly. Cana immediately starts drinking more of the beer in her hand, hoping that she will not give anything away. She was supposed to keep their relationship a secret. It is what Mirajane wanted._

_As if catching onto her fears, Macao says, “It’s fine if you won’t tell us, but make sure to bring the lucky guy to the Guild someday so we can put the fear of Fairy Tail in him.”_  
_And with that, the train car plunged into a thoughtful silence soon to be filled with drunken jeers and drinking challenges that are carried out at the train bar._

-

The slightly drunk mage shrugs, still not looking straight at Mirajane. There were complications on the mission, but it was nothing she was not expecting when she went on it. However, her good mood only lasted until she reached the front doors of the Guild. Still, Cana forces a smile on her face when she answers, “Yeah, just a little worn out.”

Mirajane does not look even slightly convinced, making Cana wonder if her unsmiling eyes revealed her inner turmoil. However, after a moment of appearing thoughtful, Mirajane smiles, both easing the partially drunk mage’s anxiety and adding to it. Part of her wants to be relieved that her girlfriend didn’t notice that something was wrong, while another part of her was hurt for the same reason.

“If you’re sure…” Mirajane says, trailing off. Cana wants to believe that it is because Mirajane was giving her another chance to talk about her problem, but she knows it is only because her girlfriend was not sure what else to say.

Shoving down the feeling of hurt, she forces another smile, this time closing her eyes to make sure the expression is not ruined by the truth in them, even if Mirajane will not notice. “Yeah, I’m sure,” Cana lies, and then quickly adds, “You should probably be getting back, right? I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

-

_Cana slips into the Guild via the front doors. Macao and Wakaba were stopping by their homes to drop off their luggage and see their families – even if Wakaba was reluctant to do the second part – so Cana went ahead to bring news of the completed mission. However, to her surprise, Mirajane is not at the bar like she usually is._

_A few fellow Guild members call out to get Cana’s attention, but she is too busy hunting down her girlfriend to pay them any mind. Since it is clear that Mirajane is not in the restaurant area, Cana goes to the swimming pool next. To her surprise, Mirajane is swimming in the pool, wearing one of her more revealing bikinis. The smile on her face, though, brings back Cana’s earlier happiness._

_Right up until she starts talking to a couple of men she knows to be regulars at the bar as well as huge fans of her girlfriend’s. While she knows that Mirajane is not a rude person and would never ignore someone who wanted to talk to her, it still plants a seed of jealousy in Cana’s heart. Only…_

_She doesn’t have a right to be jealous._

_Just like that, the jealousy vanishes to be replaced with dejection. It is not like they ever talked about being exclusive, and they have yet to even go on an official date. Even when Cana isn’t busy with mage work and Mirajane isn’t working, they only meet up in the comfort of their own homes, away from the prying eyes of Guild members._

_In fact, Cana is not even sure how Mirajane feels about her. While drunk after a Guild celebration, Cana had mistakenly confessed to liking Mirajane while the latter helped her home. At first, Mirajane didn’t believe her, but Cana kept insisting until she passed out from too much alcohol. The next morning, when asked about it by a curious Mirajane, Cana admitted to it being all true. Cana’s soon-to-be girlfriend then asked her if she wanted to start dating._

_It was just assumed that Mirajane felt the same way, since she was the one to ask Cana out. However, Cana is no longer sure if that is the case. After seeing the kind ex-mage with those fanboys, she has to wonder if Mirajane only asked her out because of pity or to keep Cana’s heart from being broken yet again. She went through a very dark rough patch the last time someone she liked didn’t like her back._

_With that thought immediately sobering her up, Cana walks back into the restaurant and heads straight for the bar without trying to approach her girlfriend. Macao or Wakaba can deal with reporting in; right now, she needs a drink._

-

They both know that Mirajane would never get in trouble for being a few minutes late, but that didn’t stop her from saying it. When Cana opens her eyes again, Mirajane looks a little hurt – Cana resists the urge to shake her head; her mind is only playing tricks with her – confused, not hurt, but is nodding in agreement anyway. “Okay, but promise me that you will get some sleep,” Mirajane requests, touching the brunette’s arm. Cana has to fight to keep her body stationary so she does not take a step back to avoid the contact. It is not that she does not want it, but rather that she crave her girlfriend’s touch and is worried she will cave under the gentle touch.

Somehow, she manages to hold herself together long enough to say, “Sure.”

Mirajane looks like she wants to say something more, but sighs and pulls away. With only a quick smile cast over her shoulder, Mirajane is out the door with it closing quietly behind her. Feeling the sadness try to claw out her chest, Cana starts rummaging through her refrigerator for another bottle of beer.

_Time to get drunk._

\- - -

“Cana?” A familiar voice asks, joining the drunk mage at the bar. Lucy pretends not to notice the many empty beer jugs and bottles covering the counter in front of her. Out of curiosity, the bar staff left the bottles and jugs out to keep track of how much she could drink before getting wasted. The current number is twenty-three and counting. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Jus’ great,” Cana slurs somewhat loudly. To anyone watching, she probably looks drunk or close to it, but she is still functioning and capable of coherent thought, much to her chagrin.

It is because she can still think that she starts to wonder how the perky blond managed to find her. If they were at the Guild bar, it would have made sense, but this isn’t the Guild bar, nor are they anywhere near the Guild. Cana has been avoiding the Guild for a few days now. But since being sober is the last thing she wants right now, she decided to visit one of the town’s pubs.

Oblivious to Cana’s curiosity, Lucy says, “That’s good, because I need to talk to you about something important.”

Cana suppresses the urge to groan by downing the rest of her drink in one go. She really does not feel like giving out advice, not with how crappy her life feels right now, but it must be really important if Lucy tracked her down to just talk to her, instead of going to one of the many more capable advice-givers at the Guild. She might as well hear Lucy out. “Shoot,” she mumbles, signaling the amused bartender for another beer.

Lucy frowns a little as another beer is placed in front of Cana, in the only empty spot on this side of the bar. However, it does not stop her from saying what is on her mind, “All our friends have been really worried about you, you know. You haven’t come back to the Guild for three days. Did something happen?”

So, not advice-seeking, but problem-solving.

A part of her wants to ask is Mirajane was included in the ‘all our friends’, but Cana holds her tongue and simply shakes her head. “Jus’ needed a quiet place ta think,” she mumbles, gripping the beer jug, but not drinking it yet.

Lucy’s brow furrows and her expression is of disbelief. Slowly, the blond looks around the packed small pub that has enough noise to rival the Guild most days. “Quiet, huh?” Lucy asks, turning back once she has done a full one-eighty. Cana will admit that it was not one of her better lies. “If you think this is quiet, I think we need to get you home.”

“It’s fine,” Cana argues, even though she knows she is already more drunk than she has been in a while. Normally, someone will stop her before she reaches dead-drunk unless there is a celebration. But without Macao watching her back or Mirajane there to stop supplying her with beers – being the responsible girlfriend, as the ex-made likes to say – she has been pushing her limits a lot these past few days. The hangover tomorrow will be a bitch.

“I really think it’s time you took a break,” Lucy insists, gently taking the beer from Cana’s grip. While the sad part of her demands she drink the beer, Cana’s more sensible side urges her to accept Lucy’s help, lest she end up passed out on a dark street, blocks from her apartment.

While she does mumble a few half-hearted curses when Lucy has to help her up, Cana feels grateful to have such a good friend that she can – literally – lean on. Somewhere along the walk back to her apartment, Cana passes out, but when she wakes up the next morning, she is safely tucked into her bed.

Sitting up slowly, Cana suppresses a groan as her stomach revolts at the action and her head throbs. The only thing keeping her from actually vocalizing her agony is the lump on her couch. A familiar head of blond hair is poking out from the pile of blankets on the other side of the room, making Cana chuckle softly. It must have been exhausting to have to drag her all the way here, so there is no way Cana is going to wake Lucy yet.

Wanting to be rid of the icky feeling left over from all the drinks last night, the hung-over mage decides to take a nice, relaxing shower. When she gets out, covered in only a towel since she forgot to bring her clothes in with her, she is surprised to find that Lucy is awake and making tea. “How are you feeling?” The blond mage asks upon seeing Cana exit the bathroom.

“Hung-over,” Cana answers, rummaging through her drawers while making as little noise as possible. Once she is dressed, she feels more comfortable and sits down on the couch, ignoring the sheets under her. “Thank you for helping me last night.”

“No problem,” Lucy replies with her usual chipper tone. However, a stern look appears on her face just as she is setting a cup of tea in front of Cana on the coffee table. Once seated on the other side of the couch, Lucy says, “I know I already said this, but everyone is worried.”

Cana sighs into her steaming tea, before properly blowing on it. “Is that why you’re here?” Cana asks, carefully taking a sip. She recoils when she finds that it is too hot.  
“That, and Mira asks me to talk to you,” Lucy informs her, making the hung-over mage flinch and nearly spill the hot tea onto her lap.

Why not come herself?

“She did?” Cana asks, her earlier depression slowly returning now that her thoughts are wondering yet again. What if Mirajane really doesn’t like Cana? What if she didn’t come here herself because was tired of Cana causing trouble? What if she plans to break it off?

Lucy nods, obvious to Cana’s inner turmoil, “She’s been worrying about you nonstop since you stopped visiting the Guild.”

Worried is good, right?

“Mira asked me to bring you back to the Guild today,” Lucy says, bringing Cana’s hopeful thoughts to a screeching halt. How is she supposed to face Mirajane after disappearing for half a week? And there is still the important question of how Mirajane feels. Cana will have to build up the courage to ask her, but she doubts she would be able to do it right now. “Can I take a quick shower?”

Snapped out of her thoughts, Cana looks up and gives a small nod of permission to the celestial mage. Once Lucy disappears behind the closed bathroom door, Cana puts down her mostly-forgotten cup of tea and starts writing a note on a pad of paper. It simply says that something came up and she would have to take a rain check on going back to the Guild.

Sliding on a pair of sandals and grabbing her bag, Cana is out the door before Lucy’s shower is over. If she is lucky, Lucy will spend another five or so minutes in there while Cana creates some distance. On the stairs, Cana’s stomach rumbles, supplying her escape with a destination.

\- - -

It is starting to get dark by the time Cana heads home. She wanted to give Lucy long enough to vacate her room, and ended up spending the day at the local library. There was not a whole lot to do in there, but she did end up reading quite a bit of relationship advice from magazines and dating books. They all told Cana to be blunt, but not rude about asking. Best to just rip the band-aid off.

Though she finally has the resolution to talk to Mirajane after twenty or so articles all on the same thing, she still decides to wait until tomorrow to actually do it. Mostly because she has convinced herself that Mirajane probably went home after her shift ended. Now she has one more night to build up – or tear down – courage it will take to ask the question.

_Or not._

Cana’s hand barely touches the handle of her apartment door before it is flying open. Standing in the doorway is none other than her girlfriend, looking extraordinarily unhappy. It has been a long time since there was such a deep frown on Mirajane’s face that it almost makes Cana want to turn around and run back to the safety of the library. However, she is not a coward and steels herself instead.

Mirajane grabs Cana’s wrist gently but firmly to pull her inside before closing the door. “Where have you been?” Mirajane demands at the same time that Cana asks, “How do you feel about me?”

There is a small silence following both of their questions and Cana’s eyes widen a little, startled by her own bluntness. Mirajane looks just as surprised, but then her expression changes from confused anger to calm understanding. “Is that what this is about?” She asks, her hand sliding down from Cana’s wrist to intertwine their fingers instead.

Although reluctantly, Cana nods, looking anywhere but at Mirajane. Because she is taller, it is hard to not meet Mirajane’s gaze when she is looking down and that only makes her fidget. Cana rarely feels this awkward and it must show, since Mirajane rests her free hand on Cana’s cheek to calm her down. It does the trick, but Cana still refuses to look at her.

“I like you a lot, and I have liked you for a long time,” Mirajane says, rubbing her thumb along Cana’s cheek, where her skin is starting to turn a light shade of pink. It might not be an ‘I love you’, but it definitely makes Cana’s heart swell. Though, Mirajane’s next words just confuse her, “Sometimes I forget you respond to things differently than everyone else.”

“Huh?”

Mirajane’s smile returns slowly, though it looks a little sad, and Cana grows anxious. She doesn’t like it when her girlfriend looks sad. “When something bad happens to most of the Guild members, they eventually tell someone about it, whether it’s close friend or a relative,” the ex-mage explains, “but you just bottle it up and try to forget.”

While Cana wants to deny it, she knows that it is true. She always drinks more after something bad happens that she wants to forget. And Mirajane would know this, since she was almost always there to witness Cana’s aftermath drinking problem.

“I tried to give you space, thinking you would come talk to me once you felt like it,” Mirajane continues, “but that never happened and I now know why. I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.”

Cana frowns, “It’s not your fault. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me. I disappeared for days without explaining why and kept pushing you away. I’m sorry.”

Instead of replying, Mirajane uses the hand caressing Cana’s face to pull the latter down for a kiss. It is sweet and gentle, but Cana does not let it stay that way. It quickly changes to something with more passion that leaves both girls breathless when it ends.

Pale cheeks flushed from the kiss, Mirajane’s smile looks even more mesmerizing than usual and Cana can’t look away. “So, what brought all this on?” Mirajane asks once they have both caught their breath.

It takes a moment for Cana’s brain to reboot enough that she can remember, and then she feels bad, since she jumped to so many stupid conclusions without a proper reason. “We’ve been unofficially dating for a while, but since you didn’t want to tell anyone, I thought it was just a pity-”

Cana does not get to finish before Mirajane is cutting her off, “When did I say I didn’t want to tell anyone?”

“When you…” Cana trails off, realizing that they never actually talked about this. She just thought that when Mirajane didn’t tell anyone, she wasn’t supposed to either. Damn it, more crazy conclusions!

“Exactly,” Mirajane says, and while she sounds scolding, her expression is light and amused. “How long has this been bothering you?”

Cana bites her lip before she answers, a little embarrassed that she never once brought it up before now or even thought about it enough to realize it was just an assumption, “Since the second week.”

“Well, let’s go fix this right now,” Mirajane says, squeezing Cana’s hand before pulling her towards the door. Confused, all Cana can do is stumble after her.

It is only once they are outside her apartment building and walking down the street that Cana asks, “Where are we going?”

“The Guild,” is Mirajane’s reply. Cana’s brow furrows as her confusion deepens, but she does not protest or ask further questions.

When they arrive at the Fairy Tail Guild’s doors, Cana tries to pull her hand free once she notices a few Guild members loitering around outside, staring, but Mirajane doesn’t let her take her hand back. Instead, she gives Cana a look that makes her stop struggling. Cana follows Mirajane inside.

Multiple people call out to them as they enter the restaurant area, but before anyone can approach, Mirajane pulls Cana into a kiss. It is a simple kiss that is nothing more than a touch of the lips, but she holds it for a few seconds before releasing Cana. The brunette mage blinks a few times, as stunned as the rest of the Guild. Silence has fallen over the hall and there is not a head not turned in their direction.

“Finally!” Someone shouts.

Just like that, the spell is broken and there are cheers of congratulations, whoops and catcalls, and even some people clapping. There are also the overdramatic cries of Wakaba about ‘losing his chance with Mirajane’, but he is drowned out by the other Guild members.

Mirajane looks up at Cana and tilts her head to the side, “See? Problem solved.”

Cana cannot stop the grin from spreading across her face as her heart becomes overwhelmed with love and affection, all for this one weird girl who knew exactly what she needed.

**Author's Note:**

> If you noticed anything that didn't fit, didn't make sense, or was just grammatically wrong, please tell me. It's five am and I'm working on caffeine and sugar, so there's bound to be something. But I was determined to get this out before I procrastinated again, so here we go!


End file.
